Defending their Dignity!

Introduction:

After our father, Yaakov,
blessed his twelve sons at
the end of his life, it is
written: “All these are the
tribes of Israel – twelve”
(Genesis 49:28). Regarding
the Twelve Tribes of Israel,
the Talmud teaches in the
name of Abaya:

“It is a tradition that no
tribe will ever be wiped
out” (Baba Basra 115b).

According to the
commentator, Rashbam, a
source for this tradition
cited by Abaya is found in
the following Divine
statement which alludes to
the eternity of the twelve
tribes that were founded by
the twelve sons of Yaakov:

“For I, Hashem, have not
changed, and you, the sons
of Yaakov, have not ceased
to be.” (Malachi 3:6)

In
this letter, we shall begin
to discuss some teachings
which can help us to
understand the unique
significance of each tribe.
These teachings can also
help us to understand that
the yearning for our reunion
with the Lost Ten Tribes is
rooted in the following
realization:

Each of our tribes has a
unique characteristic which
helps us to fulfill our
spiritual and universal
mission as the people of the
Torah.

Dear Friends,

Yaakov blessed his twelve
sons, the founders of the
Twelve Tribes of Israel
(Genesis, Chapter 49);
moreover, Moshe blessed the
Twelve Tribes of Israel
before they entered the
Promised Land (Deuteronomy,
Chapter 33). A deep study of
these blessings reveals that
each tribe has a unique
characteristic which it can
use to further the Divine
mission of the entire nation
of Israel. Among these
unique characteristics of
our diverse tribes, we find
special skills in areas such
as leadership, Torah wisdom,
commerce, agriculture, and
military defense against
enemies seeking Israel’s
destruction. For example,
the Tribe of Yehudah
specialized in leadership,
the Tribe of Levi
specialized in the study and
teaching of Torah, the Tribe
of Yissachar specialized in
certain areas of Torah
scholarship, the Tribe of
Zevulun specialized in
commerce, the Tribe of Asher
specialized in certain areas
of agriculture, and the
Tribe of Gad specialized in
“warrior” skills which were
used in defense of our
nation.

Although Israel is one
nation, each of our tribes
is also a nation, and a
source for this idea is
found in the following
Divine promise to Yaakov,
our father:

“A
nation and a community of
nations will emerge from
you” (Genesis 35:11).

“A
community of nations” –
Targum Onkelos, the ancient
and revered Aramaic
translation of the Torah,
states: “A community of
tribes will emerge from
you.”

In
his commentary on the above
Divine promise, Rabbi Samson
Raphael Hirsch explains that
each tribe within Israel has
a unique national
characteristic. According to
Rabbi Hirsch, the tribes of
Israel – each with its own
special characteristic – can
serve as a universal model
for all the diverse tribes
of humankind. Rabbi Hirsch
writes:

“Hence, this people should
not present a one-sided
image. As a model nation, it
should reflect diverse
national characteristics…In
this manner it will become
clear to all that the
sanctification of human life
in the Divine covenant of
the Torah does not depend on
a particular way of life or
national characteristic.
Rather, all of humankind,
with all its diversity, is
called upon to accept the
unifying spirit of the God
of Israel. From the
diversity of human and
national characteristics
will emerge one united
kingdom of God.”

According to Midrash Rabbah,
the following verse
indicates that each tribe
had its own flag:

The Children of Israel shall
encamp, each person by his
flag according to the
insignia of his ancestor’s
house, at a distance
surrounding the Tent of
Meeting shall they encamp.”
(Numbers 2:2)

“Each person by his flag” –
The flag of each tribe had a
distinguishing color and
emblem representing the
tribe. (Midrash Numbers
Rabbah 2:7)

The Tent of Meeting – the
Sanctuary – contained the
Ark of the Covenant, and
within the Ark of the
Covenant were the Tablets of
the Covenant. After the
Sanctuary was built, the
Twelve Tribes of Israel were
commanded to encamp around
the Sanctuary with their
respective flags. Before the
building of the Sanctuary,
there is no mention of their
encamping with flags.

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, a
leading sage of the previous
generation, raises the
following question:

Why did the Twelve Tribes of
Israel have to wait to
encamp with their respective
flags until “after” the
Sanctuary was built?

He
offers the following answer:

Until the Children of Israel
had the unifying center of
the Sanctuary, the
differences between the
tribes were a potential
source of conflict. If the
tribes would have encamped
with their separate flags
without a unifying spiritual
center, there would have
been a surge of
“nationalistic” feeling
within each tribe, with each
tribe feeling superior to
the other. The Sanctuary,
however, provided a central
focus to communal life and
revealed that, whatever
their differences, the
tribes were united by their
common service of Hashem.
Once the Sanctuary was
built, it was no longer
dangerous to emphasize the
unique nature of each tribe
through their separate
flags.

Rabbi Kamenetsky adds a
related idea:

The diversity of the tribes
has a positive role within
the Divine plan for Israel,
and we were reminded of this
after the Exodus, when
Hashem split the Sea of
Reeds into twelve different
paths – one for each tribe
(Mechilata on Exodus 14:6).
This positive role can only
be fulfilled, however, when
all the tribes are devoted
to a common spiritual goal,
and when there is mutual
respect for the unique role
of each tribe in the
achievement of that goal.
(Cited in the ArtScroll
biography, “Reb Yaakov” by
Yonason Rosenblum)

The Twelve Tribes of Israel
were later reminded of their
common spiritual goal when
they made the joyous
pilgrimage to the Holy
Temple in Jerusalem for the
Festivals of Passover,
Shavuos, and Succos. Within
the Holy of Holies of the
Temple was the Ark of the
Covenant, and within the Ark
were the Tablets of the
Covenant which we received
at Mount Sinai. Within the
Ark was also the Torah
scroll transcribed by Moshe,
and according to another
view, this scroll was placed
on a board protruding from
the Ark (Baba Basra 14a-b).

The joyous pilgrimage to the
Temple in Jerusalem
therefore led to the renewal
of our collective bond with
the Torah – the Divine
Teaching. This renewal of
our shared commitment to the
Divine Teaching led to
unity; thus, the Jerusalem
Talmud explains that the
pilgrimages to the Temple
inspired all the people to
become spiritual chaverim
– friends (Chagigah
3:6). Through these
pilgrimages, Jerusalem
became a city where the
People of Israel were united
together, and the Talmud
cites the
following commentary of
Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi on a
phrase from the Book of
Psalms:

“The built-up Jerusalem is
like a city that is united
together” (Psalm 122:3) – a
city that causes all Israel
to become chaverim.”
(Ibid)

As
we have discussed in this
series on the “soul” of
Zion, the majority of our
people are no longer aware
of our unifying and
spiritual goal as the people
of the Torah. The loss of
this awareness has also
caused a loss of the
awareness of the following
tradition: There are
“tribes” within our nation
that are to be especially
devoted to the study and
teaching of Torah. These
particular tribes can remind
our nation of the “soul” of
Zion – the inner spirit
which reveals the
higher purpose of our life
in the Land of Zion. It is
therefore fitting to
conclude this letter with
the following blessings:

May
all our tribes renew the
sacred bond with the Torah.

May there be mutual respect
for the role of each tribe.

And
may all our tribes be
blessed with unifying
shalom.

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
(See below)

Related Comments:

1.
With the help of Hashem, we
shall discuss in the next
letter the
following teaching of Maimonides:
The Tribe of Levi – a
tribe devoted to the study
of the Divine Teaching – can
serve as a universal model
for any human being
who wishes to devote his or
her life to this form of
service to Hashem.

2.
For information on the
biography, “Reb Yaakov” by
Yonason Rosenblum, visit:
www.artscroll.com.